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Attendance Manual
Updated August 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview and Purpose of District Attendance Manual
Attendance Process
District Policy/Administrative Rule: Student Attendance
• Implementing Student Attendance Regulations
• Elementary Schools
• Middle Schools
• High Schools
Instructions for Entering and Maintaining Daily Attendance
• Attendance Code/Absences Reasons
• Attendance Letters and Phone Calls
Student Attendance Intervention Plan
• Creating the Student Attendance Intervention Plan Report in Power School
• Discipline Coding for Truants
• Completing Student Attendance Intervention Plan
• SAIP Report/Completing SAIP
• Purpose of Intervention Planning; Federal and State Legislation
• S.C. CODE 59-65-90 Clarification of Student/ Parent Purpose of Intervention Planning;
Federal and State Legislation
• Copies of SAIP’s
• Court Process
High School/Failure Due to Attendance
• Credit Retrieval
• Competency Based Credit
SC Compulsory School Attendance Law/SC Department of Education Regulations
Dr. Kokolis -Guidelines and Letters for Excessive Tardies/Absences/Return to Zone Letters
Homebound
State Reporting/UMIRS
Instructions for No Showing a Student
Weekly High School 10 drop/Expulsion List
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Overview and Purpose of Attendance Manual
The purpose of the District Attendance Manual is to answer frequently asked questions regarding attendance
issues, some of which are running letters, district guidelines, completing the Student Attendance
Intervention Plan at the school, the court process, and state law regarding attendance in our schools.
Please be sure that staff members who deal with student attendance at your school know the
attendance process. Truancy and poor attendance can have a devastating impact on a student's education. It is
so important for those responsible for completing the SAIP to become familiar with it and how to utilize it
as an effective tool in dealing with student and parents with regard to student attendance.
The secret to success in dealing with poor school attendance is to identify the problem in a timely
manner and take appropriate action at the school level to address and correct the problem.
It is our hope that each school will find this to be a helpful resource. Our goal is to make this process as
clear as possible to all school personnel as well as new staff in our schools. We welcome any questions you
might have and encourage anyone to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
District Office Contacts:
Dr. Luanne Kokolis-Associate Superintendent-981-1045
V. Keith Wilks-Student Services Director-981-1041
Sally Wilson-District Attendance Coordinator -981-1044
Susan Murphy- District Attendance Supervisor -981-1043
Debra Broyles - PowerSchool – 985-3110
Debra Crenshaw-PowerSchool -981-1068
Brenda Shepherd- PowerSchool -981-1049
Sandra Craven- Instruction Department Home School -981-1055
Anne-Lise Edmodson– Homebound Services – 981-1907
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ATTENDANCE PROCESS
By September 1 of each school year, each principal is responsible for emailing the Director of Student
Services (Keith Wilks) and the District Attendance Coordinator (Sally Wilson) who at their school will be
responsible for completing the SAIP for the school year.
1. All letters are generated at the District Office. At three unlawful absences and three unlawful tardies a
phone call will be generated from Power School to the home. A 5 day and 10 day unlawful absence
letter will be generated from Power School and will be printed and sent from the Print Shop at the
District Office. The High School letters are generated by course and are sent at 5 days and 7 days each
semester. Parents will receive an automated call if the student misses a class or a full day.
2. The District Attendance Office is responsible for providing to the High Schools and the Middle Schools
a list of students that need a SAIP completed. The elementary schools are responsible for running their list
at the school weekly. The SAIP list is generated at 5 unlawful days. Please refer to manual for
instructions on how to run this report/ list at the Elementary School and how to code truants in discipline in
Power School.
3. By SC Code 59-65-90 at the time a student has 5 full unexcused (unlawful) absences a SAIP is to be
completed. The SAIP leaders make all reasonable efforts to reach the parent to schedule a conference at the
school for purposes of identifying the reason for the student's absences and to complete the required SAIP.
It is recommended that before the scheduled meeting that the team receives information on grades,
discipline, attendance and any other pertinent information that will help the team and the parent resolve the
student's absences. The conference should be held at the school with the parent, student and the SAIP team.
However, should all reasonable efforts to reach the parent/guardian fail, or if the parents are informed of
the conference but fail to attend, (try to schedule at least two conferences), you may make a referral to
the District Attendance Office. This referral has to include written documentation of attempts and any
contacts with the parent.
5. After the SAIP has been completed, attendance is to be monitored by the school. It is recommended that
the school use the Intervention Plan Review File (copy included in manual) to document contacts with
the parent after the SAIP is completed. This can be any teacher involvement, discipline or any other contact
made with the parent or student.
6. The school does not forward a copy of the SAIP to the District Attendance Office until there is noncompliance on the part of the parent or student. If the student continues to be absent unlawfully after the SAIP
is signed by the parent and student, and if there is no effort on the parents or students part to improve, then the
SAIP is to be forwarded to the District Attendance. Copies of all information are to be placed in the
student's attendance folder at the school. If the student transfers to a school in the state of South Carolina
this information needs to be sent to that school.
7. FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ONLY: When a child reaches 10 or more unlawful tardies,
the parent/guardian is then contacted by a phone call to discuss the tardies and explain the process
if there is not improvement .When a student has been tardy 25% of days in attendance, a SAIP must
be completed with the parent and the Student Intervention Team. Tardies are monitored by the
school after the SAIP is completed. A referral to the District Office is made if tardies continue.
When a referral is made to the District Attendance Office for excessive tardies, a letter is sent to the
parent for further intervention.
8. All the information along with the SAIP is to be forwarded to the District Attendance Office for further
intervention and possible a referral to Family Court. Each case for tardies is required to be staffed by
the District Attendance Office with the Solicitor’s Office before a petition is filed with Family
Court.
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9. The District Attendance Office is responsible under S.C. State Attendance Law and No Child Left
Behind to try and contact the family before referring to the Family Court System.
If you have questions concerning the Attendance Process call Susan Murphy (1043) or Sally Wilson
(1044) at the District Attendance Office.
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District Policy/Administrative Rule: Student Attendance
Administrative Rule
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Code
JE-R
Issued
9/14
It is imperative that attendance is accurately compiled for each student each day in our schools. Student
attendance data and records impact the school and district ratings imposed by State and Federal entities, can
impact families through referrals to Family Court as well it impact funding from State and Federal agencies.
Attendance must be taken for all students for 180 days as outlined by the South Carolina Attendance Laws
and in the Rock Hill School District Attendance Manual. Attendance is taken and entered into PowerSchool
on a daily basis in elementary schools and in each class period for middle and high school classes. All sign
in, sign out, cutting, suspension, field study and other partial day or full day absences must be reconciled in
the student records on a daily basis. The student check in system at each school must be used to document
sign in and sign out for students at all levels.
Each school must enter appropriate discipline coding for Truancy in PowerSchool no less than every five
days. The specific instructions for data entry can be found in the Rock Hill School District Attendance
Manual. All documentation including notes from parents, physicians, court, bereavement, etc. must be kept
on file for each student and used when determining if a Student Attendance Intervention Plan (SAIP) must be
created due to excessive absences and/or tardies (elementary schools only). The SAIP must be in place and
documentation for the interventions implemented must be included in a referral to the District Attendance
Coordinators for a Family Court Referral. Specifics on the processes and procedures can be found in the
Rock Hill School District Attendance Manual.
Students will be considered lawfully absent with proper documentation when:
a. They are ill and their attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others
b. There is a death or serious illness in their immediate family
c. There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith
d. The student is suspended out of school
e. There is a necessary medical or legal appointment that cannot be scheduled during non-school time
f. Circumstances occur in the family of a tragic nature
g. Activities approved in advance by the principal
Lawful absences allow students to make up missed work.
For high school, in order to receive credit for a high school course, a student must attend at least 84 out of 90 school
days to receive credit for a one-unit course. This policy means the students will only be allowed 6 absences of any
type (lawful or unlawful) in a one unit-course.
Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed by a parent/guardian or a medical excuse. If
this excuse is not turned in within three days after the student is back in school, this absence will be considered to be
unlawful. The maximum number of days that will be recorded as lawful absences with parent notes will be 3 days per
semester for high school and 5 days for elementary and middle school per year, unless there are wide-spread documented
virus/influenza outbreaks identified within the school community.
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After three consecutive or a total of five unlawful absences, regulations require that school officials contact the
parent/guardian for a conference. The purpose if this conference is to identify reasons for your student's absences and
to complete a Student Attendance Intervention Plan (SAIP). Students who participate in extracurricular activities must
be in attendance at least one-half of the school day on the day of the event.
By September 1 of each school year the principal is responsible for notifying the Executive Director of Student Services
who will be responsible for completing Student Attendance Intervention Plans for the school year.
Refer to this Administrative Rule’s Appendix for Attendance Guidelines for Elementary, Middle and High school and to
the Rock Hill School District Attendance Guidelines for additional rules, regulations, processes and procedures.
JE-E (1)- Elementary School Guidelines
JE-E (2)- Middle School Guidelines
JE-E (3)- High School Guidelines
Citation: South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of Education
Regulations.
Link to District Website:
http://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/staff/districtpolicies.aspx?folder_id=43
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JE-E(1)
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Guidelines for Implementing Student Attendance Regulations
Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed by a parent/guardian, or a
medical excuse. If this excuse is not turned in within THREE days after the student is back in school,
this absence will be UNLAWFUL. The maximum number of days that will be recorded as lawful
absences with parent notes will be FIVE.
Students will be considered lawfully absent when:
a. they are ill and their attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others.
b. there is a death or serious illness in their immediate family — with proper documentation
(bulletin, death notice, etc.).
c. there is a recognized religious holiday of their faith.
d. activities approved in advance by the principal.
e. the student is suspended from school.
f. there is a necessary medical or legal appointment that cannot be scheduled during non-school
time.
A tardy is only excused (T code) when a medical note is presented at time of arrival to
school or approved by the principal for extenuating circumstances.
Lawful absences allow students to make up missed work.
Note: Out of town trips/vacations are not lawfully excused absences.
Student Attendance Intervention Plans
After three consecutive or a total of five unlawful absences, regulations require that school officials
contact the parent/guardian for a conference. The purpose of this conference is to identify reasons for
your student's absences and to complete a Student Attendance Intervention Plan.
The maximum number of days a student is allowed to miss is TEN per school year (lawful or
unlawful.) When a student is absent more than 10 days, attendance is an important factor used in
the promotion/retention decisions for grades K-5.
More than 10 absences and/or excessive tardies could result in a referral to Family Court.
Citation: South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60 & 70 and South Carolina Board of
Education Regulations.
Early withdrawals:
Students are not allowed to leave school after 2:00 p.m. UNLESS a doctor's
excuse/appointment card is presented to the office by the parent at the time of dismissal. In addition, no
transportation changes can be made AFTER 2:00 p.m.
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JE-E(2)
MIDDLE SCHOOL GUIDELINES
Guidelines for Implementing Student Attendance Regulations
Students are required to attend school 170 days out of the 180 day school year. This is South Carolina
Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of Education Regulation.
Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed by a parent/guardian, or a
medical excuse within three days after returning to school. If this excuse is not turned in within
THREE days after the student is back in school, the absence will be unlawful.
Students will be considered lawfully absent with proper documentation when:
h. They are ill and their attendance in school would endanger their health or the health of others.
i. There is a death or serious illness in their immediate family.
j. There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith.
k. Activities approved in advance by the principal.
l. The student is suspended out of school.
m. There is a necessary medical or legal appointment that cannot be scheduled during non-school time.
Lawful absences allow students to make up missed work. The maximum number of days that will
be recorded as lawful absences with parent notes will be FIVE.
Students will be considered unlawfully absent when:
a. They are willfully absent from school without the knowledge of their parent or guardian.
b. They are absent without acceptable cause with the knowledge of their parent or guardian.
c. Out of town trips/vacations.
Students who participate in extracurricular activities must be in attendance at least one-half of the
school day on the day of the event.
The maximum number of days a student is allowed to miss is TEN per school year (lawful or
unlawful). When a student is absent more than 10 days, attendance is an important factor used in
the promotion/retention decisions for grades 6-8.
Any student enrolled in a high school credit course will fail due to attendance if absences exceed a total
of TEN days (lawful or unlawful). Students who miss more than the allowed number of absences in a
high school credit course are required to attend make-up sessions or student will fail the course due to
attendance.
Student Attendance Intervention Plans
After three consecutive or a total of five unlawful absences, regulations require that school
officials contact you and your child for a conference. The purpose of this conference is to identify
reasons for your student's absences and to complete a Student Attendance Intervention Plan. Students
who exceed the maximum number of absences allowed may be referred to the Family Court for truancy
if under the age of seventeen.
Citation: South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of
Education Regulations.
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JE-E(3)
HIGH SCHOOL
Guidelines for Implementing Student Attendance Regulations
Citation: South Carolina Code of Laws 59-65-50, 60, & 70 and South Carolina Board of
Education Regulation.
A student must attend at least 84 out of 90 school days in order to receive credit for a one-unit
course. The regulation means the student will only be allowed 6 absences of any type (lawful or
unlawful) in a one unit-course. Any student who misses school must present a written excuse, signed
by a parent/guardian, or a medical excuse within three days after returning to school. If this excuse is
not turned in within THREE days, the absence will be unlawful. The maximum number of days that
will be recorded as lawful absences with parent notes will be 3 days per semester.
Students will be considered lawfully absent when:
a. They are ill and their attendance in school would endanger their health or the
health of others.
b. There is a death or serious illness in their immediate family.
c. There is a recognized religious holiday of their faith.
d. Activities approved in advance by the principal.
e. The student is suspended out of school.
f. There is a necessary medical or legal appointment that cannot be scheduled during
non-school time.
All lawful absences may be made up in make-up sessions.
Students will be considered unlawfully absent when:
a. They are willfully absent from school without the knowledge of their parent
or guardian.
b. They are absent without acceptable cause with the knowledge of their
parent or guardian.
c. Out of town trips/vacations.
All students must be in class 2/3 of the class to be counted present. This is 60 minutes for a 90
minute class. All absences must be made up by the last scheduled Credit Retrieval session each
semester.
Students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports, concerts, and prom must be in
attendance at least one-half of the school day on the day of the event.
Student Attendance Intervention Plans
After three consecutive or a total of five unlawful absences, regulations require that school officials
contact you and your child for a conference. The purpose of this conference is to identify reasons
for your student's absences and to complete a Student Attendance Intervention Plan. Students who
exceed the maximum number of absences allowed may be referred to the Family Court for truancy if
under the age of seventeen.
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High School Credit
In order to receive one Carnegie unit of credit, a student must be in attendance in accordance with
the South Carolina Code of Law 59-65-50. If a student has 7 or more absences in any one-unit course
he/she is required to attend Credit Retrieval sessions.
Students who miss more than the allotted number of absences are required to attend Credit Retrieval
sessions. This also includes students who are absent due to out of school suspensions. These sessions must
be attended or students will fail the course due to absences.
If the student does not attend any type of Credit Retrieval sessions, a Failure due to Attendance will
be recorded for the course(s) at the end of the semester if the student is passing the course. IF the
student has a failing grade, that failing grade is to be recorded NOT a Failure due to Attendance.
Students can apply for Competency Base Credit through their High Schools. They have to meet all of
the following conditions. 1. Course average of 77 or greater. 2. Final Exam of 70 or greater.
3. Submission of application to the principal for approval.
If students do not qualify for Competency Based Credit through their High Schools they are required to
attend Credit Retrieval sessions in order to receive credit. These sessions must be attended or students
will fail the course due to absences.
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Instructions for Entering and Maintaining Daily Attendance
To check to see if all teachers have taken attendances run the Teachers Attendance Submission
Status.
PowerSchool front page, under Functions, select Attendance, and select Teacher Attendance
Submission Status. Green – they have taken all sections of attendance, Yellow – they have taken
partial attendance, and Red – they have not taken attendance at all.
Entering Daily Attendance
High School/Middle School
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Entering Daily Attendance
High School/Middle School
ALL Middle and High Schools MUST take Attendance as shown below.
It is imperative that Attendance is entered and recorded correctly at the school each
day. This affects reports on discipline, court, state, federal, letters, and school
report card, school funding, phone calls, truancy, and FA’s.
It is crucial Attendance is entered as accurately as possible. Please contact us with
any questions you may have.
Start by Selecting the Student- Click on the Week of the Attendance
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Current Attendance Code: Drop Down and enter Appropriate Code
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Enter Code in All day or Appropriate Block and Click Submit
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The Attendance Screen will show:
You have now entered Attendance.
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Student Signs in During or After 1st Block
Follow these Steps.
STEP 1 of 2
If a student is absent 1st block and signs in late (anytime) that day after 1st block
starts, you have to go back to meeting, select week. And correct the Attendance.
Click SUBMIT
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STEP 2
Go to Daily. Click on the Day that needs to be corrected. In the below screen shot
it is Wednesday.
.
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The Unexcused code shows and indicates an all-day absence.
This is where reports are generated . If this is not corrected the reports for
discipline, court, state, federal, letters, school report card, school funding, phone
calls, truancy, FA’s will not be accurate.
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Change to P (Present) and click submit.
Please note: If a student is Present only 60 minutes (2/3rds of the class) then it
has to show as PRESENT in the All-day Code.
Please remember if this is not corrected the reports for discipline, court, state,
federal, letters, school report card, school funding, phone calls, truancy, FA’s.
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Maintaining Daily Attendance-Elementary
The tardy bell rings at 7:45 a.m. All students arriving after 7:45 a.m. must be signed in at the
office by an adult. Each student has a sign-in/out card where the adult signs and provides the
date, time in/out and reason for tardiness/early dismissal. If a student is in the building, but not
in the classroom when the tardy bell rings, the teacher will send the student to the office for a
late pass.
Teachers will take attendance by 8:30 a.m. and will send to the office any absence excuses
received that day. Absences will be entered as "U" (unexcused absence) or "Z" (unexcused
tardy) by the teachers. In order to determine which teachers have taken attendance the Teacher
Attendance Submission Status report is run. If a teacher's attendance has not been taken, the
attendance clerk notifies the teacher.
A child who misses 3 consecutive absences will be contacted by the teacher and the teacher
will communicate concerns with attendance. Any further intervention will be handled by
attendance. Teacher and Other Staff contacts are to be documented in Log Entries and titles
Attendance Concerns for documentation if needed.
Each child has an individual attendance folder and all handwritten excuses, doctor's notes,
change in transportation letters, etc. are kept in this folder and retained for five years. Any
district attendance or tardy letters are also filed in this folder.
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Entering Daily Attendance-Elementary
Tardies are then entered in PowerSchool by the SIS clerk using the "Daily Attendance"
page. All tardies are entered as "Z" unless the student has a doctor's excuse "T". Absence
excuses are then reviewed and identified based on what the excuse says. Allowable
identifiers are U (unexcused), E (excused), M (medical), B (bereavement), C (cut), F
(influenza-like), and O (out of school suspension). For lawful and unlawful absence
definitions, please refer to the district attendance guidelines.
*Please note that any child who enters the school building is counted present for that day.
Also, any child who misses 10 consecutive unlawful days will be dropped on the llth day.
After the attendance process is complete, a list is printed of all tardy and absent students. Go
to Function, select Attendance, select Absentee Report, and Include All Students, holding
the “CTRL” key select tardy codes R, Z and T, “Date to scan” contains current date, and
submit. Follow the same steps as above to run absent students list using absent codes of U,
E, M, B, O, C, F.
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From the Report Queue, Click View, file, and print, and file in the daily attendance folder.
Daily attendance folders are retained for five years.
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Maintaining Daily Attendance Elementary Schools
As students arriving late or leaving early, you must make the necessary adjustments
in their daily attendance.
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Every Friday (or the last day of the school week), be sure to remind the teachers to print their
Attendance Summary Report, make corrections, sign, and turn into SIS Clerk. These reports
need to be retained for FIVE years.
Schools receive funding based on attendance. Please note that any child who enters the school building
is counted present for that day. For this reason, if a student reaches the school's campus his absences
will be changed to tardy. Remember, the reports generated for the State Department are generated
based on All Day Absent Codes.
Attendance Excuses
Students need to bring a written excuse signed by a parent/guardian, or a medical excuse within three days
after returning to school. Teachers are required to submit these excuses daily. Once you received an excuse,
you need to determine whether the excuse is excused, unexcused, or medical.
Remember, you can only accept FIVE full days absent on a parent's note as excused. Be sure to file any
additional parent's notes in the student's folder. ALL medical excuses are accepted. After you have
determined the excuse code, make the adjustment in meeting attendance sure to save any changes.
All excuses need to be filed in the student's folder and retained for five years.
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Maintaining Daily Attendance Middle Schools
Attendance Clerk must run Absence Reports and work with SIS Clerks closely to be sure data
is correct.
Go to Period Attendance atom and enter tardies from the sign in sheet. This will correct any absences
(UNX) that were entered by the home-base teacher.
Go to Class Attendance (Cls Att) atom and select Class Attendance on the tool bar. Go to Teachers
not taking attendance (CIs01). Go to date and enter the date. Go to periods and enter 00-00 for
home-base.
You must request attendance from all teachers that are on the report. Repeat the process before starting
Mass Changes to make sure the teachers did enter their attendance.
Enter Out of School Suspensions (OSS) and In School Suspensions (BIP). Rebound-will send their
absentee list to the school each morning. Go to Period Attendance atom and go to Period Attendance on
the tool bar. Select Absence List (ATP28). Go to date range and enter the date. Go to Absence Types
and enter Unexcused Tardies. Then print the report.
Check all students that signed in late. Make sure to adjust any coding the home-base teacher
entered. If the student was late with an excuse (parent or medical), leave the home-base block empty.
You will enter the correct coding after the mass changes have been completed. Remember, the
coding in the home-base block will carry over during your second mass change.
Go to the Mass Change atom. Select change period reason. Mass change reason will be Unexcused
Tardy (Z) to Present. If you have unexcused tardy in the home-base block it will carry over to all of the
blocks during the second mass change. Be sure to enter the date and period range. The period range
will be 00-00 for home-base. Click on the change box to start the mass change. Remember, you will
be able to make tardy adjustments from the report (ATP28) you generated earlier. That report
reflects tardies that home-base teachers entered, too.
Go to the Mass Change atom. Select fill period reason. The period range will be 00-06 (for all
classes). If a student signs in after attendance is complete, adjustments can be made to correct the
student's attendance. Enter the date and 00 in the period box. Select the “include all day” code box.
Finally, click on change. This will start the second mass change.
Go to the period attendance atom. Go to Period-Attendance on the tool bar. Select Absence List
(ATP25). Enter the date. Absence Types will be Not Excused, Excused, and School Activity. Click
on custom and click on track field. Select Grade. This will break the report down by each grade,
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which makes it easier for the teachers. Click the Preview box (top right corner of your screen), then
click the preview (on the middle right side of the screen).
Save report as a text document. Go to Microsoft Excel and open the spreadsheet. Remove any
unnecessary information or cells and save the report. Go to GroupWise and send the report as an
attachment to all teachers and administrators. Print a copy to place in the daily attendance folder and a
copy to attach to the daily attendance.
If there is an error concerning a student, teachers will respond via email.
Return to PowerSchool. Go to period attendance and enter the tardies from the ATP28 report
concerning tardies. Enter all excused tardies from the sign in sheet.
As students arrive, make the necessary adjustments. Adjustments will need to be made as students
sign out early. A student needs to be present for half of the class in order to receive credit for that
class. This will become important when issuing credit in high school credit classes.
Every Friday (or the last day of the school week), be sure to remind the teachers to print their
Attendance Summary Report, make corrections, sign, and turn into Attendance Clerk. These reports
need to be retained for FIVE years.
Schools receive funding based on attendance. For this reason, if a student reaches the school's
campus credit will be given in the all-day code. The classes that the student misses will be marked
absent. Remember, the reports generated for the State Department are generated based on the
coding in the ALL DAY column.
Attendance Excuses
Students need to bring a written excuse signed by a parent/guardian, or a medical excuse within three days
after returning to school. Teachers are required to submit these excuses daily. Once you received an excuse,
you need to determine whether the excuse is excused, unexcused, or medical.
Remember, you can only accept FIVE full days absent on a parent's note as excused. Be sure to file any
additional parent's notes in the student's folder. ALL medical excuses are accepted. After you have
determined the excuse code, make the adjustment in meeting attendance sure to sage any changes.
All excuses need to be filed in the student's folder and retained for five years.
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Maintaining Daily Attendance-High Schools
Attendance Clerk must run Absence Reports and work with SIS Clerks closely to
be sure data is correct.
Section I. High School Attendance Process
All Students must be in class 2/3 of the class to be counted present. That is 60 minutes for a 90 minute
class.
A.
Clerk(s) check and call teachers to complete attendance for first block. (To check to see
if teachers have done their attendance, run CLSO1 under class attendance atom.) Once everyone
has completed taking their attendance, the mass change is done for the morning.
B.
Upon completion of morning mass change, clerks will enter the tardies. Students will sign
in at attendance office and those absences/tardies will be entered accordingly.
C.
Clerk needs to run query (ATP 25) to check for all day tardies and remove second, third and
fourth block tardies.
D. Enter ISS list for current day.
E. Repeat process for calling teachers for their attendance and entering tardies & sign-ins for second
block. (There will not be another mass change until the end of the day.)
F. Once second block tardies are completed, clerk runs query to check for potential cutters. (To get
second block's potential cut list, compare to period 3 when running ATP. For third black, compare
to period 4 and for fourth black, compare to period 5.) Clerk sends list to teachers via email to check
for needed corrections for non-cutters.
G.
Continue with same process for third and fourth blocks, calling teachers for attendance and
entering tardies/sign-ins.
H.
After fourth block attendance is completed, make all corrections for homebound-medical, AES and
intermittent.
I.
After all fourth block attendance is finished, including last email to teachers with list of potential
fourth block cutters, run final cut-sheet to go to administrators. (ATP 08, comparing to period 1.)
J. Once cut sheet is run on the end of day mass change.
K.
Run the end of day report that shows all attendance marks for the entire day. (ATP 25)
L.
Do Parent Link message for current day's absences.
M.
Enter OSS for following day and do Parent Link OSS message to notify parents of student's
impending OSS on following day.
N.
Enter doctor/sick notes daily. Doctor notes are unlimited. Sick notes from home are limited to three
per semester. All notes, whether excused or not, are to be filed in each student's personal file.
Page 28 of 76
Attendance Excuses
Students need to bring a written excuse signed by a parent/guardian, or a medical excuse within three days
after returning to school. Teachers are required to submit these excuses daily. Once you received an excuse,
you need to determine whether the excuse is excused, unexcused, or medical. Remember, you can only
accept 3 parent’s notes as excused per semester. Be sure to file any additional parent's notes in the
student's folder. ALL medical excuses are accepted. After you have determined the excuse code, make
the adjustment in meeting attendance sure to sage any changes.
All excuses need to be filed in the student's folder and retained for five years.
Page 29 of 76
Attendance Letters and Phone Calls from the District Office
Parent Link Tim Allen
Time for
data files
to be sent
to server
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
Code
to
trigger
TARDY
call
Time
for
Tardy
call to
start
Time
for
Tardy
call to
end
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
U
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
Z
10:15
11:45
Codes to
trigger
ATTENDANCE
call
Time for
attendance
call to
start
Time for
attendance
call to end
U
10:15 AM
U
Auto
Attendance
Tardies
Belleview
Yes
Yes
Ebenezer
Yes
Yes
Ebinport
Central Child
Dev.
Yes
Yes
NA
NA
Finley Road
Yes
Yes
Independence
Yes
Yes
India Hook
Yes
Yes
Lesslie
Yes
Yes
Mt. Gallant
Yes
Yes
Mt. Holly
Yes
Yes
Northside
Yes
Yes
Oakdale
Yes
Yes
Old Pointe
Yes
Yes
Richmond Dr.
Yes
Yes
Rosewood
Yes
Yes
Sylvia Circle
Yes
Yes
Sunset Park
Yes
Yes
York Road
Yes
Yes
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
10;00:00
AM
Northwestern
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
Rock Hill High
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
South Pointe
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
Castle Heights
Dutchman
Creek
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
School Name
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
Rawlinson
Road
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
Sullivan
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
Page 30 of 76
Saluda Trail
Yes
Yes
5:00 PM
B,C,M,O,U,F
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
ATC
5:00 PM
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Phoenix
5:00 PM
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Renaissance
5:00 PM
6:30 PM
8:00 PM
Z
6:30
PM
8:00
PM
Phone calls are sent by the District Office each day for students:
Elementary / Middle Schools: 3 unexcused tardies and 3 unexcused full days absent
High Schools: (Starts over each semester): 3 absences by course, sent on any code that seat time
applies; 3 unexcused tardies
Lisa Robinson in the Print Center prints and mails letters daily for:
Elementary and Middle Schools: Letters on 5 and 10 unexcused tardies; Letters at 5 and 10 unexcused
full days.
High Schools: Letters on 5 and 7 absences in any course that seat time applies; and these start over
each semester as the course changes.
High school letters/ phone calls are run on: BCEMOUFJ codes. These are the codes in which seat
time applies.
The above letters and phone calls meet the State Mandatory Attendance Law.
There are additional phone calls to parents regarding attendance that are made each day from the
schools.
Page 31 of 76
STUDENT ATTENDANCE INVENTION PLAN
Creating the Student Attendance Intervention Plan Report in Power School
By SC Code 59-65-90 at the time a student has 5 full unexcused (unlawful) absences a SAIP has to be completed.
The elementary schools are responsible for running their list at the school weekly. The SAIP list is
generated at 5 unlawful full absences.
To generate this report in Power School:
Under Functions on the left; go to Attendance
Under Attendance: Go to Attendance Count
Page 32 of 76
Next as shown above: Attendance Count Report
Attendance Mode change to Daily; Grades: check KG, 1, 2,3,4,5 (all but PK4. 4 and 5 years olds by the
definition of the law can’t be coded as Truant); if you want to look at ALL students leave all blank
Attendance Codes: Select U code
Minimum Number of Total Occurrences: 5 and click Submit
For a Report on Unexcused Tardies: Use this report and replace the U code with the Z code. This is the
Attendance Code for unexcused tardies. Then change the Minimum Number of Total Occurrences to your
select number of unexcused tardies.
Please Remember: The T code is for Excused tardies and should only be used when a student signs in late
with a medical statement, or if otherwise approved by the principal.
Page 33 of 76
Discipline Coding for Truants
Each School is responsible for entering the 151 Discipline Code.
Under S.C. Code of Law 59-65-90 states “A child ages 6 to 17 years meets the definition of a truant when
the child has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences.”
Please Note: We run our list for Truant List for SAIP and Coding Truants on 5 Full unlawful absences.
NOTE: TRU 2 and TRU 3 DISCIPLINE CODE IS FOR DISTRICT OFFICE USE ONLY
Incident Management Discipline Truancy Terms & Codes
CODE 151 -Truant - A child ages 6 to 17 years meets the definition of a truant when the child has three
consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences.
CODE 152 - Habitual truant - A "habitual" truant is a child, ages 12 to 17 years, who fails to
comply with the intervention plan developed by the school. The child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s)
and who accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences. This child may need court
intervention and an initial truancy petition asking for court intervention.
CODE 153 - Chronic truant - A "chronic" truant is a child ages 12 to 17 years who has been through
the school intervention process. Has reached the level of "habitual" truant, has been referred to Family
Court and placed on an order to attend school, and continues to, accumulate unlawful absences. Should
other community alternatives and referrals fail to remedy the attendance problem, the "chronic" truant
may be referred to Family Court for violation of a previous court order. All school intervention
plans existing to this point for this, child and family must accompany the Contempt of Court petition
as well as a written recommendation from the school to the court on action the court should take.
Page 34 of 76
TRUANCY DATA REPORTING
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
Go to Special Functions under Functions. Select Incident Management.
Select Create New Incident.
Page 35 of 76
Drop Down for:
Incident Type: Truancy
Incident Date: Date of 5th unlawful absence.
Time Frame: During School Hours and then you have to click drop down and choose DCL-During
Class or you will not be able to SAVE this incident when you finish.
Title: Truancy
Description: Date of SAIP; or anything you would like
Location: Classroom
Prepared by: The person(s) who wrote and held SAIP meeting.
Page 36 of 76
The 2nd part of creating an Incident in Power School, is building the Participants. This is the
STUDENT who the Truancy (151 Code) is being reported.
The Screen Shot tells you the steps to be taken before Submitting your incident.
PLEASE NOTE: This screen shot shows ALL the possible ACTION Code choices you will
have. You can use all of these or just one, but you have to use at least one.
The Behavior Code for Truancy the school will ALWAYS use will be the 151 Truant.
152 and 153 are use by the District Attendance Office only.
Page 37 of 76
When building the Participant part of the Incident you click on the green plus sign to add the
Participant, who is the student.
First add the student of who the truancy is being entered on. A window will appear to search for the
student. After adding the student, another window appear to add Attributes and the Role of the
Student. The Student will always be the Offender.
After building the Participate the next step is to add the Incident Elements. Click on the green plus
sign. You need to choose a Behavior and an Action.
Once you have chosen the Elements, you have to drag the elements over to the Student. (Left click
and drag down under the Students name.)
Very important you have to drag and drop in the following order: DRAG Behavior first and drop
under the students name and THEN; 2. Drag Action (s) and drop under the Behavior Code under the
Student.
After this you see an outline and the way the Behavior and actions indent under the Student’s Name as
shown above.
Page 38 of 76
THEN Submit Incident to SAVE.
It is important to remember to use the151 TRUANT code only ONE time in you school each year.
You can go back to this Incident and add any notes that you want under Description. It is a great
place to put all the school notes in reference to Attendance on the student. If this student does have to
be referred to the District Attendance Office for further action, that you have all the school notes in
one place, which can be printed and sent along with the referral.
Completing Student Attendance Intervention Plan
(SAIP)
What should the SAIP include?
1.
List the reasons for the unlawful absences. (Be very specific)
Document actions to be taken by parents/guardians and student to resolve the reasons for the
unlawful absences. For each reason for absences, there should be an action to improve the reason for the
absences.
2.
Document actions to be taken by the school to help the child. Please list opportunities to be given
to the student to make up missed work and opportunities to make up days.
3.
List referrals made to outside service agencies if there is a need for such referrals. These may
include, but are not limited to Catawba Family Center, DSS, DJJ, law enforcement, etc.
4.
Document actions to be taken if unlawful absences continue. This will include additional attempts to
talk with the parent concerning absences and outcomes of these discussions.
5.
The Intervention Plan should be reviewed with and signed by the child, parent/guardian and
the intervention team leader. (Except in the case of elementary school children-the child does not
have to sign the SAIP.
6.
7.
A copy of the plan should be given to the parent and one kept in the student file.
Should absences continue after the plan has been signed, additional contacts should be made with the
family to see how the situation may have changed. Information from this contact should be documented
in the follow up sheet.
8.
PLEASE NOTE: If parent does not respond to the request for conference or fails to attend the
conference, the school should record all efforts made by school to secure parent involvement (i.e. phone
calls to home, work, emergency numbers, times the calls were made and certified mailings and
involvement of school social worker).
9.
Page 39 of 76
What does the Court require of the intervention team?
1.
Dates and results of contact made with parent concerning student's attendance.
2.
Date and copy of letter sent to parent setting up attendance intervention conference.
3.
Date and notes from phone call made to set up attendance intervention conference.
Date and notes from the intervention conference. Who all were in attendance, what information was
shared, what strategies developed.
4.
5. Follow
up after the SAIP is signed with the parent.
ATTENDANCE REGULATION & REPORTING:
SUMMATION OF AMENDMENTS TO S.C. CODE 59-65-90 CLAIRIFICAITON OF
STUDENT PARENT INTERVENTION REQUIREMENTS.
Purpose of Intervention Planning; Federal and State Legislation; No Child Left Behind-Truancy
rates reporting S.C. Code of Laws 59-65-90 School officials must intervene-3 consecutive or 5
unlawful total absences
"Intervene" means to identify reasons for the child's continued absences and to develop a plan in
conjunction with the student and his parent/guardian to improve his/her future attendance.
Intervention Plans School Officials must make every reasonable effort to meet with the parent(s) or
guardian(s) and the student to identify the reason for the students continued absences.
The efforts should include telephone calls; home visits as well as written messages.
School officials must develop a written "intervention plan" to address the students continued
absences in conjunction with the student and parent(s) or guardian(s).
The intervention plan must include but is not limited to:
• Designation of a person to lead the intervention team.
• Reason for the unlawful absences.
• Actions to be taken by the parent/guardian and the student to resolve the causes of the unlawful
absences.
• Actions to be taken by the intervention team members.
• Actions to be taken in the event the unlawful absences continue.
• Signature of parent/guardian or the evidence that attempts were made to involve the
parents/guardian.
• Documentation of involvement of team members.
School Officials may utilize a team intervention approach, but this is not a requirement.
When the District Attendance Office files a truancy petition to the Family Court the intervention plan
must be attached. Also this intervention plan will be served to the parents/students at the time they
are served to be in Court.
Page 40 of 76
Rebound/Renaissance/Phoenix
If a student is placed on the SAIP list, and the student is enrolled in any of the alternative programs, it is
both schools and the Alternative schools responsibility to work together in order to complete the SAIP.
If parents and students do not comply, the SAIP along with all follow up documentation is to be sent
to the District Attendance Office for Court Intervention.
Provided below are copies of the SAIP
You can, but not required to, use the below Attendance Referral to the District Office to document
follow up information after the SAIP is completed at your school. However, if a referral is sent to our
office from an Elementary School a principal has to sign the referral form.
The SAIP is to be monitored at your school once the plan is in place. If the Parent and or Student
don’t comply at that point a referral to the District Attendance Office can be made.
Remember to include a completed SAIP along with follow up information after it was signed and
reason for noncompliance of the plan
If you need copies of the SAIP we will send them to you and we also can provide you an electronic
form of the SAIP.
Note: By State Law, a Student Attendance Intervention Plan is attached to each petition that the
District signs and files to the Family Court.
Page 41 of 76
ROCK HILL SCHOOL DISTRICT III
Student Attendance Intervention Plan
Student Name:_________________________________________DOB:________________Date:_____________
School:________________________Age:____Gender:_____Race:_____Grade:_______
Parent/Guardian:________________________ Home Phone:__________________Work Phone:___________
Address:_______________________________________________SSN_________________________________
Siblings (ages and school)_________________________________________________________________________________________
REASON for ABSENCES
Attach a copy of the student’s Attendance Detail at the time of the conference.
Number of Excused Absences:____
Number of Excused tardies:____
Number of Unexcused Absences:____
Number of Unexcused tardies:____
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
) Absences-unable to receive credit
) Disciplinary/behavior
) Economic
) Failed Exit Exam
) Family Conflict
) Has Child(ren)
) Retention
8. ( ) Married
9. ( ) Pregnant
10. ( ) Run Away
11. ( ) Work
12. ( ) Non Enrollment
13. ( ) Homeless
14. ( ) Refusing to attend school
15. ( ) Other__________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Additional Reason/Comment: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
SCHOOL PROCEDURES-SPECIFY DATES and RESULTS
1. ( ) 3-day phone call________ ( ) 3-day tardy call______
2. ( ) 5-day letter sent_________ ( ) 5-day tardy letter______
3. ( ) 7-day letter sent________ ( ) 10-day tardy letter_____
4. ( ) 10-day letter sent_______
5. ( ) phone call made on each absences daily (period or full day/excused or unexcused)
6. ( ) teacher contact___________________________________________________________________________________________
7. ( ) administrative contact_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. ( ) other_________________________________________________________________________________
9. ( ) school attendance worker contact____________________________________________________________________________
10. Additional Contacts, please list:________________________________________________________________________________
11. Additional Comments:________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECORD of CONFERENCE-PLAN to IMPROVE STUDENT’S ATTENDANCE
Individuals Present:__________________________________________________________________________
( ) Parent/Guardian did not attend
( ) Student did not attend
If a parent/guardian/student does not attended the conference, please specify how school personnel provided notice to the
parent/guardian of this intervention conference. Please include dates with your documentation.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Additional Comments:_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
page 1 of 2
Page 42 of 76
PART I. ACTIONS to be TAKEN by PARENT/GUARDIAN and STUDENT to RESOLVE CAUSES of UNLAWFUL
ABSENCES.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Additional comments:____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
PART II. ACTIONS to be TAKEN by SCHOOL/or SCHOOL PERSONNEL and APPROPRIATE SERVICES PROVIDERS.
1. ( ) monitor attendance___________________________________________________
2. ( ) referral to mental health counselor______________________________________
3. ( ) academic assistance___________________________________________________
4. ( ) referral to alternative program_________________________________________
5. ( ) referral to home school worker _________________________________________
6. ( ) referral to administrative personnel______________________________________
7. ( ) referral to outside agency____________________________________________________________
8. ( ) other______________________________________________________________________________
PLAN:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PART III. ACTIONS to be TAKEN in the EVENT UNLAWFUL ABSENCES CONTINUE.
1. ( ) follow-up with teachers ______________________
2. ( ) follow-up with administrators/counselors_______________________________
3. ( ) referral to District Attendance Office for further intervention/possible referral to Family Court for truancy.
4. ( ) referral to Department of Social Services______________________
5. ( ) will call home after each absence
Additional Actions/Comments:________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A child ages 6 to 17 years old meets the definition of a truant when the child has 3 consecutive or 5 total unlawful absences. A child ages
12 to 17 years, who fails to comply with the intervention plan developed by the school, the child ,and the parent(s) or guardian(s) and who
accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences may be referred to Family Court for truancy.
I certify that the regulations of the S.C. Law 59-65-10 have been explained to me and I understand my responsibilities concerning the
attendance of my child.
____________________________________
______________________________________
Parent/Guardian
Conference/Team Leader
____________________________________
_______________________________________
Student
Team Member/School Administrator
___________________________________
______________________________________
Date
Team Member/Position
Comments:___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
COPY to PARENT and COPY to STUDENT PERMNANENT FILE
Page 43 of 76
Attendance Referral
To
District Attendance Office
Principal Signature
Date
Referring Person
Date
Additional information and or follow up information since Student Attendance Intervention Plan
were signed with the parent/guardian:
Page 44 of 76
Page 45 of 76
Page 46 of 76
Court Process
How Does the School Get the Court Involved?
In order for the court to intervene in the case, a written SAIP and documentation of non-compliance
of that plan must be attached to the truancy petition asking for court intervention.
What are some examples of documentation the school should keep and attach to the petition for court
intervention?
1.
Copies of attendance letters sent usually at three (3) and five (5) absences.
2.
Dates, time and results of all attempts made to contact parent by phone.
Date of initial contact with parents and recorded detailed notes of information learned in
the initial contact.
3.
Dates of additional contact with parents if necessary along with recorded detailed notes of these
meetings.
4.
Date of referral to the intervention team leader (likely a person at the school who will head up
the team and develop the intervention plan).
5.
Documentation of referrals to appropriate service providers and, if available, alternative
school and community-based programs.
6.
When the District Attendance Office files a truancy petition to the Family Court the SAIP
must be attached. The SAIP will be attached to the petition and served to the parents/students
at the time they are notified to be in court.
Page 47 of 76
Addendum to the York County Truancy Manual
POLICY ON ELEMENTARY AGED CHILDREN WITH MULTIPLE TARDIES
There have been a small number of cases in the past that have been referred to Family Court for NonAttendance (Parent(s) listed as the Respondent) due to excessive tardies only. This number of cases
has been a very small number of cases and each time one has been brought to court it has been after
the school district has made multiple and comprehensive efforts to assist the families in getting the
child to school each day on time. These cases have always dealt with multiple tardies more than just a
few minutes. These tardies have interfered with the child's ability to receive instruction. An example
of this is a child with a resource type class that is taught only first thing the morning. If this child
regularly gets to school an hour and a half late and the resource teacher is only available for the first
hour of school, then the child is unable to receive the needed instruction.
These cases were originally handled in a procedure that a former Family Court Judge came up with.
The school districts handled all elementary cases without assistance from the Solicitor's Office. In
1998, Judge Garfinkle, then Chief Administrative Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, determined
that the Solicitor's Office should assist the school districts in these cases. The Solicitor’s Office has
not made any changes to the criteria for bringing these cases before the Court other than to require the
school to prepare and present along with the petition, an intervention plan. Up until now, tardies
have been addressed on a case by case basis with school representatives speaking with the Solicitor's
Office before petitioning this type of case to court to determine whether all efforts to seek compliance
have been exhausted by the school district.
Since school district attendance representatives attend a staffing for truancy each Monday, it has been
determined that the best time to bring these cases up for discussion is in that meeting. At that time, the
Solicitor's Office as well as the four school districts will have an opportunity to staff each case and
determine its appropriateness for filing before the case is brought to court.
In addition to the Addendum it was decided by our Family Court Judge David Guyton in 2014, along
with the Solicitor of York County, that all of our referrals for unlawful tardies, will first be referred by
York County Solicitors Office to the Department of Social Service before the possibility of a Family
Court Hearing.
Page 48 of 76
Failure Due to Attendance
In order to receive one Carnegie unit of credit, a student must be in attendance in
accordance with the South Carolina Code of Law 59-65-50. A student must attend at least
84 out of 90 school days. Students will not receive credit in classes with
more than 6 absences, regardless of the reason for the absence.
A Failure Due to Attendance Letter is mailed to the parent from the District Office when a
student has 7 or more absences in any class.
Enclosed in the letter is a copy of the Credit Retrievals Information with dates, cost, rules and
contact information.
If the student does not attend any type of Credit Retrieval sessions, a FAILURE DUE TO
ATTENDANCE will be recorded for the course(s) at the end of the semester.
OSS days are lawful and do have to be counted in the days for make-up time. Cuts and/or other
unlawful days cannot not be made up above 10 days.
All documentation/information is entered in PowerSchool by School based Attendance Office
personnel.
Rights to enter or make changes in the attendance atom should be limited at each school to
the appropriate personnel.
Competency Base Credit
Students can apply for CBC through their High Schools. They have to meet all of the
following conditions. 1. Course average of 77 or greater. 2. Final Exam of 70 or greater. 3
Submission of application to the principal for approval.
PLEASE remember by District Policy we can only excuse 3 Days per semester on a Parent
Note. Qualifying for CBC does NOT change unexcused absences to excused absences.
Page 49 of 76
State Department of Education Regulations
Title of Regulation:
STUDENT ATTTENDANCE
Regulation No.: R 43-274 Effective Date: 11/28/03 Constitutional and
Statutory Provisions:
S. C. Code Ann. Sections: 59-5-65 (1990
and Supp. 2002)
59-65-90 (1 990) 20 U.S.C. § 7112 (2002) 42 U.S.C. § 5601 et seq. (2002)
Powers and responsibilities of State Board of Education Rules and regulations No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974
Descriptor Code: JBD, JBA, JBE State
Board Regulation: 43-274. Student
Attendance
A. Lawful and Unlawful Absences
School districts must adopt policies to define and list lawful and unlawful absences.
1. Lawful absences include but are not limited to
absences caused by a student's own illness and whose attendance in school would endanger
his or her health or the health of others,
a.
b.
absences due to an illness or death in the student's immediate family,
c.
absences due to a recognized religious holiday of the student's faith, and
absences due to activities that are approved in advance by the principal.
2. Unlawful absences include but are not limited to
a. absences of a student without the knowledge of his or her parents, or R 43-274
d.
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b.
absences of a student without acceptable cause with the knowledge of his or her parents.
3. Suspension is not to be counted as an unlawful absence for truancy purposes.
B. Truancy
The State Board of Education recognizes that truancy is primarily an educational issue and that all
reasonable, educationally sound, corrective actions should be undertaken by the school district
prior to resorting to the juvenile justice system.
1.
Truant
A child ages 6 to 17 years meets the definition of a truant when the child has three consecutive
unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful absences.
2.
Habitual Truant
A "habitual" truant is a child, ages 12 to 17 years, who fails to comply with the intervention
plan developed by the school, the child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s) and who accumulates
two or more additional unlawful absences. This child may need court intervention and an initial
truancy petition may be filed. The written intervention plan, and documentation of
noncompliance, must be attached to the truancy petition asking for court intervention.
3. Chronic Truant.
A "chronic" truant is a child ages 12 to 17 years who has been through the school
intervention process, has reached the level of a "habitual" truant, has been referred to Family
Court and placed on an order to attend school, and continues to accumulate unlawful absences.
Should other community alternatives and referrals fail to remedy the attendance problem, the
"chronic" truant may be referred to the Family Court for violation of a previous court order. All
school intervention plans existing to this point for this child and family must accompany the
Contempt of Court petition as well as a written recommendation from the school to the court on
action the court should take.
Intervention Plans
Each district must develop a policy relating to requirements for intervention. The
district plan for improving students' attendance must be in accordance with any applicable
statutes.
1.
Once a child is determined to be truant as defined in Section 8(1) school officials must make
every reasonable effort to meet with the parent(s) or guardian(s) to identify the reasons for the
student's continued absence. These efforts should include telephone calls and home visits, both
during and after normal business hours as well as written messages and e-mails.
School officials must develop a written "intervention plan" to address the student's continued
2.
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absence in conjunction with the student and parent(s) or guardian(s).
3. The intervention plan must include but is not limited to:
Designation of a person to lead the intervention team.The team leader
may be someone from another agency.
Reasons for the unlawful absences.
Actions to be taken by the parent(s) or guardian(s) and student to resolve the causes of the
unlawful absences.
Documentation of referrals to appropriate service providers and, if available, alternative school
and community-based programs.
Actions to be taken by intervention team members.
Actions to be taken in the event unlawful absences continue.
Signature of the parent(s) or guardian(s) or evidence that attempts were made to involve the
parents(s) or guardian(s).
Documentation of involvement of team members.
Guidelines for making revisions to the plan.
4. School officials may utilize a team intervention approach. Team members may include
representatives from social services, community mental health, substance abuse and prevention,
and other persons the district deems appropriate to formulate the written intervention plans.
D. Referrals and Judicial Intervention
At no time should a child ages 6 to 17 years be referred to the Family Court to be placed on an
order to attend school prior to the written intervention planning being completed with the
parent(s) or guardian(s) by the school. A consent order must not be used as an intervention plan
from any local school or school district. Should the parent(s) or guardian(s) refuse to cooperate
with the intervention planning to remedy the attendance problem, the school district has the
authority to refer the student to Family Court in accordance with S.C. Code Ann. § 59-65-50
(1990), and a report shall be filed against the parent(s) or guardian(s) with the Department of
Social Services in compliance with S.C. Code Ann. § 20-7-490 (2)(c)(Supp. 2002).
1. Petition for a School Attendance Order
If the intervention plan is not successful and further inquiry by school officials fails to cause
the truant student and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) to comply with the written intervention plan or if
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the student and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) refuses to participate in intervention and the student
accumulates two or more additional unlawful absences, the student is considered an
"habitual" truant. Each referral must include a copy of the plan and specify any corrective action
regarding the student and/or the parent(s) or guardian(s) that the district recommends that the
court adopt as well as any other available programs or alternatives identified by the school
district. The intervention plan must be attached to the petition to the Family Court and served on
the student and the parent(s) or guardian(s).
2. Petition for Contempt of Court
Once a school attendance order has been issued by the Family Court and the student
continues to accumulate unlawful absences, the student is considered to be a "chronic" truant
and school officials may refer the case back to Family Court. The school and district must exhaust
all reasonable alternatives prior to petitioning the Family Court to hold the student and/or the
parent(s) or guardian(s) in contempt of court. Any petition for contempt of court must
include a written report indicating the corrective actions that were attempted by the school
district and what graduated sanctions or alternatives to incarceration are available to the court in
the community. The school district must include in the written report its recommendation to the
court should the student and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) be found in contempt of court.
E.
Coordination with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
Each school district should coordinate with the local office of the South Carolina Department
of Juvenile Justice to establish a system of graduated sanctions and alternatives to
incarceration in truancy cases.
F.
Transfer of Plans
If a student transfers to another public school in South Carolina, intervention plans shall be
forwarded to the receiving school. School officials will contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) and
local team members to review the plan and revise as appropriate. Court ordered plans may be
amended through application to the court.
G. Approval of Absences in Excess of Ten Days and Approval of Credit
1.
Approval or Disapproval of Absences
The district board of trustees, or its designee, shall approve or disapprove any student's absence in
excess of ten days, whether lawful, unlawful, or a combination thereof, for students in grades
K-12.
For the purpose of awarding credit for the year, school districts must approve or disapprove
absences in excess of ten days regardless as to whether those absences are lawful, unlawful, or a
combination of the two.
2.
High School Credit
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In order to receive one Carnegie unit of credit, a student must be in attendance at least 120 hours,
per unit, regardless of the number of days missed. Students whose absences are approved should
be allowed to make up any work missed in order to satisfy the 120-hour requirement. Local
school boards should develop policies governing student absences giving appropriate
consideration to unique situations that may arise within their districts when students do not meet the
minimum attendance requirements.
Therefore, districts should allow students, whose excessive absences are approved in part 1
of this section, to make up- work missed to satisfy the 120 hours requirement.
Examples of make-up work may include
a. after-school and weekend make-up time, b. extra work that could translate to extra hours of
credit, or c. summer school.
H.
Reporting Requirements
The State Department of Education will develop and implement c standard reporting system
for the adequate collection and reporting o' truancy rates on a school-by-school basis.
I.
Guidelines
Additional information relating to the implementation of this regulatior will be contained in State
Department of Education Guidelines. The State Department of Education will review and update
these guideline- as needed.
South Carolina Compulsory School Attendance Law CHAPTER 65.
S.C. Compulsory School Attendance Law
ATTENDANCE OF PUPILS
ARTICLE 1.
COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE
SECTION 59-65-10. Responsibility of parent or guardian; notification by school district of
availability of kindergarten; transportation for kindergarten pupils.
(A)
All parents or guardians shall cause their children or wards to attend regularly a public or private
school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of Education or a
member school of the South Carolina Independent Schools' Association or some similar
organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have
been approved by the State Board of Education from the school year in which the child or ward is five
years of age before September first until the child or ward attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates
from high school. A parent or guardian whose child or ward is not six years of age on or before the
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first day of September of a particular school year may elect for their child or ward not to attend
kindergarten. For this purpose, the parent or guardian shall sign a written document making the election
with the governing body of the school district in which the parent or guardian resides. The form of
this written document must be prescribed by regulation of the Department of Education. Upon the
written election being executed, that child or ward may not be required to attend kindergarten.
(B) Each school district shall provide transportation to and from public school for all pupils enrolled
in public kindergarten classes who request the transportation. Regulations of the State Board of
Education governing the operation of school buses shall apply.
SECTION 59-65-20. Penalty for failure to enroll or cause child to attend school.
Any parent or guardian who neglects to enroll his child or ward or refuses to make such child or ward
attend school shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than fifty dollars or be imprisoned not more than
thirty days; each day's absence shall constitute a separate offense; provided, the court may in its
discretion suspend the sentence of anyone convicted of the provisions of this article.
SECTION 59-65-30. Exceptions.
The provisions of this article do not apply to:
(a) A child who has been graduated from high school or has received the equivalent of a high school
education from a school approved by the State Board of Education, or member school of South
Carolina Independent Schools' Association, or a private school in existence at the time of the passage of
this article;
(b) A child who obtains a certificate from a psychologist certified by the State Department of
Education or from a licensed physician stating that he is unable to attend school because of a physical or
mental disability, provided there are no suitable special classes available for such child in the school
district where he resides;
(c) A child who has completed the eighth grade and who is determined by the court to be legally and
gainfully employed whose employment is further determined by such court to be necessary for the
maintenance of his home;
(d) [Reserved]
(e) A student who has a child and who is granted a temporary waiver from attendance by the district's
attendance supervisor or his designee. The district attendance supervisor may grant a temporary waiver
only if he determines that suitable day care is unavailable. The student must consult with the district
supervisor or his designee in a timely manner to consider all available day care options or the district shall
consider the student to be in violation of this chapter.
(f) A child who has reached the age of sixteen years and whose further attendance in school, vocational
school, or available special classes is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
disruptive to the educational program of the school, unproductive of further learning, or not in the
best interest of the child, and who is authorized by the court to enter into suitable gainful employment
under the supervision of the court until age seventeen is attained. However, prior to being exempted from
the provisions of this article, the court may first require that the child concerned be examined physically and
tested mentally to assist the court to determine whether or not gainful employment would be more
suitable for the child than continued attendance in school. The examination and testing must be
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conducted by the Department of Youth Services or by any local agency which the court determines to
be appropriate. The court shall revoke the exemption provided in this item upon a finding that the child
fails to continue in his employment until reaching the age of seventeen years.
SECTION 59-65-40. Home schooling programs.
(A) Parents or guardians may teach their children at home if the instruction is approved by the district
board of trustees of the district in which the children reside. A district board of trustees shall approve
home schooling programs which meet the following standards:
(1) the parent:
(a) holds at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational development
(GED) certificate and, beginning in the 1989-90 school year, attains a passing score on the basic
skills examination developed pursuant to Section 59-26-20(b)(1) after the State Department of
Education has validated the test for use with home schooling parents; or
(b) has earned a baccalaureate degree;
(2) the instructional day is at least four and one-half hours, excluding lunch and recesses, and the
instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days;
(3) the curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic instructional areas of reading, writing,
mathematics, science, and social studies and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature;
(4) as evidence that a student is receiving regular instruction, the parent shall present a system for
maintaining and maintain the following records for inspection upon reasonable notice by a
representative of the school district:
(a) a plan book, diary, or other written record indicating subjects taught and activities in which the student
and parent engage;
(b) a portfolio of samples of the student's academic work; and
(c) a record of evaluations of the student's academic progress. A semiannual progress report including
attendance records and individualized assessments of the student's academic progress in each of the
basic instructional areas specified in item (3) must be submitted to the school district.
(5) students must have access to library facilities;
(6) students must participate in the annual statewide testing program and the Basic Skills
Assessment Program approved by the State Board of Education for their appropriate grade level.
The tests must be administered by a certified school district employee either with public school students
or by special arrangement at the student's place of instruction, at the parent's option. The parent is
responsible for paying the test administrator if the test is administered at the student's home; and
(7) parents must agree in writing to hold the district, the district board of trustees and the district's
employees harmless for any educational deficiencies of the student sustained as a result of home
instruction.
At any time the school district determines that the parent is not maintaining the home school program in
keeping with the standards specified in this section the district board of trustees shall notify the parent
to correct the deficiencies within thirty days. If the deficiencies are not corrected within thirty days, the
district board of trustees may withdraw its approval.
(B) The district board of trustees shall provide for an application process which elicits the information
necessary for processing the home schooling request, including a description of the program, the
texts and materials to be used, the methods of program evaluation, and the place of instruction. Parents
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must be notified in advance of the date, place, and time of the meeting at which the application is
considered by the board and parents may be heard at the meeting.
(C) Within the first fifteen instructional days of the public school year, students participating in
home instruction and eligible for enrollment in the first grade of the public schools must be tested to
determine their readiness for the first grade using the readiness instrument approved by the State
Board of Education for public school students. If a student is determined to be "not ready" or is
determined to lack the necessary emotional maturity, the parent must be advised by appropriate school
district personnel whether a kindergarten or a first grade curriculum should be used for the child.
Nothing in this section may be interpreted to conflict with a parent's right to exempt his child from
kindergarten as provided in Section 59-65-10(A).
(D) Should a student in a home schooling program score below the test requirements of the promotion
standard prescribed for public school students by the State Board of Education for one year, the
district board of trustees shall decide whether or not the student shall receive appropriate instructional
placement in the public school, special services as a handicapped student, or home schooling with an
instructional support system at parental expense. The right of a parent to enroll his child in a private
or parochial school as provided in Section 59-65-10(A) is unaffected by this provision.
(E) If a parent is denied permission to begin or continue home schooling by a district board of trustees,
the decision of the district board of trustees may be appealed, within ten days, to the State Board of
Education. Any appeal from the decision of the State Board of Education must be taken, within thirty
days, to the family court.
Validity, construction, and application of statute, regulation, or policy governing home schooling or
affecting rights of home-schooled students. 70 ALR5th 169.
SECTION 59-65-45. Alternative home schooling requirements.
In lieu of the requirements of Section 59-65-40, parents or guardians may teach their children at home if
the instruction is conducted under the auspices of the South Carolina
Association of Independent Home Schools. Bona fide membership and continuing compliance with
the academic standards of South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools exempts the
home school from the further requirements of Section 59-65-40.
The State Department of Education shall conduct annually a review of the association standards to insure
that requirements of the association, at a minimum, include:
(a) a parent must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational
development (GED) certificate;
(b) the instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days; and
(c) the curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic instructional areas of reading, writing,
mathematics, science, and social studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature.
By January thirtieth of each year, the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools shall
report the number and grade level of children home schooled through the association to the children's
respective school districts.
SECTION 59-65-47. Associations for home schools; requirements.
In lieu of the requirements of Section 59-65-40 or Section 59-65-45, parents or guardians may
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teach their children at home if the instruction is conducted under the auspices of an association for home
schools which has no fewer than fifty members and meets the requirements of this section. Bona
fide membership and continuing compliance with the academic standards of the associations
exempts the home school from the further requirements of Section 59-65-40 or Section 59-65-45.
The State Department of Education shall conduct annually a review of the association standards to ensure
that requirements of the association, at a minimum, include:
(a) a parent must hold at least a high school diploma or the equivalent general educational
development (GED) certificate;
(b) the instructional year is at least one hundred eighty days;
(c) the curriculum includes, but is not limited to, the basic instructional areas of reading, writing,
mathematics, science, and social studies, and in grades seven through twelve, composition and literature
(d) educational records shall be maintained by the parent-teacher and include:
(1) a plan book, diary, or other record indicating subjects taught and activities in which the student and
parent-teacher engage;
(2) a portfolio of samples of the student's academic work; and
(3) a semiannual progress report including attendance records and individualized documentation of
the student's academic progress in each of the basic instructional areas specified in item (c) above.
By January thirtieth of each year, all associations shall report the number and grade level of children
home schooled through the association to the children's respective school districts.
SECTION 59-65-50. Nonattendance reported to court having jurisdiction of juveniles.
If the board of trustees of a school district or its designee is unable to obtain the school attendance of a
child in the age group specified in Section 59-65-10, the board or its designee shall report such
nonattendance in writing to the juvenile court or such other court in the county as may have
jurisdiction of juveniles but exclusive of magistrate's courts notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 22-3-540; provided, that no one
except the board of trustees or its designee shall have the authority to institute the proceedings herein.
SECTION 59-65-60. Procedure upon receipt by court of report of nonattendance.
(a)
Upon receipt of such report, the court may forthwith order the appearance before such court of the
responsible parent or guardian and if it deems necessary, the minor involved, for such action as the court
may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.
(b) The court may, after hearing upon ten days notice, order such parent or guardian to require such child
to attend school and upon failure of such parent to comply with such order may punish such parent or
guardian as by contempt, provided, that punishment for such contempt cannot exceed fifty dollars or
thirty days imprisonment for each offense.
The procedure herein provided shall be alternative to the penalties provided in Section 59-65-20.
SECTION 59-65-70. Court empowered to declare child delinquent.
If the court determines that the reported absence occurred without the knowledge, consent or
connivance of the responsible parent or guardian or that a bona fide attempt has been made to control
and keep the child in school, the court may declare such child to be a delinquent and subject to the
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provisions of law in such cases.
SECTION 59-65-80. Enrollment or attendance of expelled or suspended child not authorized.
Nothing herein shall be construed as granting authority to require enrollment or attendance of a
child who has been or may be expelled or suspended by the board of trustees of the district or any other
person acting with authority from the board of trustees.
SECTION 59-65-90. Rules and regulations.
The State Board of Education shall establish regulations defining lawful and unlawful absences
beyond those specifically named in this article and additional regulations as are necessary for the
orderly enrollment of pupils so as to provide for uniform dates of entrance. These regulations shall
require: (1) that school officials shall immediately intervene to encourage the student's future
attendance when the student has three consecutive unlawful absences or a total of five unlawful
absences and (2) that the district board of trustees or its designee shall promptly approve or
disapprove any student absence in excess of ten days. As used in this section, "intervene" means to
identify the reasons for the child's continued absence and to develop a plan in conjunction with
the student and his parent or guardian to improve his future attendance.
Provided, however, that nothing within this section shall interfere with the Board's authority to at any
time refer a child to a truancy prevention program or to the court pursuant to Section 59-65-50.
.
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Guidelines for Excessive Tardies/Absences/Return to Zone Letters Forward to All
Principals - Dr. Kokolis June 4, 2014
School sends letter
Send letter by Certified mail
Set the date to entered zoned school. Give them at least one week.
Send copy of the letter to Student Services: attention Keith Wilks
Send copy of the letter to the zoned school so they will know to expect student
Excessive absences and tardies are those over 10 that are unexcused.
Send TRANSFER or SOC RETURN TO ZONE or OUT OF ZONE letter if issue arises before
the end of the 1st semester.
Send the TRANSFER, SOC or OUT OF ZONE - RETURN TO YOUR ZONED SCHOOL
NEXT YEAR letter during 2nd semester. (Students should not be moved late in the year if at all
possible. If after addressing the issue with parents problem(s) continue, contact Sally Wilson or
Susan Murphy and use your discretion with handling the problem.)
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660 N. Anderson Road
P.O. Drawer 10072
Rock Hill, SC 29731
T: (803) 981-1000
F: (803) 981-1094
www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us
November 13, 2014
To The Parent/Guardian Of:
INSERT STUDENT NAME
INSERT ADDRESS
INSERT CITY, ST, ZIP
Dear Parent:
It has come to my attention that your residence/address has been verified to be outside our school
zone. Your child should attend INSERT SCHOOL______________________ according to your current
address.
You will be expected to enroll your child in the school for which he/she is zoned by INSERT
DATE______________________________________.
You will need to take verification of your current address with you to enroll your child at INSERT
SCHOOL_________________________. Verification information must be a recent electric or gas bill in
your name showing your current address.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Your immediate attention and
cooperation is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Principal
INSERT SCHOOL NAME
C: Office of Student Services
C: Zoned School
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Engaging Students for Successful Futures
660 N. Anderson Road
P.O. Drawer 10072
Rock Hill, SC 29731
T: (803) 981-1000
F: (803) 981-1094
www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us
November 13, 2014
To The Parent/Guardian Of:
INSERT STUDENT NAME
INSERT ADDRESS
INSERT CITY, ST, ZIP
Dear Parent:
It has come to my attention that your child has excessive unexcused absences and/or tardies. Your
child was approved to attend this school out of your assigned zone with the understanding that
he/she would be on time and not have excessive unexcused absences and/or tardies.
Your child must attend INSERT SCHOOL_______________________________________ according to
your current address. You will be expected to enroll your child in the school for which he/she is
zoned by INSERT DATE_______________________________.
You will need to take verification of your current address with you to enroll your child at INSERT
SCHOOL_________________________. Verification information must be a recent electric or gas bill in
your name showing your current address.
Sincerely,
Principal
INSERT SCHOOL NAME
C: Office of Student Services
C: Zoned School
Page 62 of 76
660 N. Anderson Road
P.O. Drawer 10072
Rock Hill, SC 29731
T: (803) 981-1000
F: (803) 981-1094
www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us
November 13, 2014
To The Parent/Guardian Of:
INSERT STUDENT NAME
INSERT ADDRESS
INSERT CITY, ST, ZIP
Dear Parent:
It has come to my attention that your child has excessive unexcused absences and/or tardies. Your child was
approved to attend this school out of your assigned zone, either by an approved transfer request or School of
Choice application. The understanding was that he/she would be on time and not have excessive unexcused
absences and/or tardies. Due to excessive absences and/or tardies your child must attend your zoned school
next school year. A transfer request will not be approved and your School of Choice approval has been
rescinded.
Your child must attend INSERT SCHOOL_______________________________________ according to your
current address. You will be expected to enroll your child in the school for which he/she is zoned by the
beginning of the next year.
You will need to take verification of your current address with you to enroll your child at INSERT
SCHOOL_________________________. Verification information must be a recent electric or gas bill in your
name showing your current address.
Sincerely,
Principal
INSERT SCHOOL NAME
C: Office of Student Services
C: Zoned School
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Homebound
South Carolina Law
Homebound or hospitalized instruction is defined as teaching that
.....is offered to the student who has an acute or chronic medical condition that prevents him or her from
attending classes at school.
.....is conducted by an individual who holds a South Carolina Teacher's certificate.
Specifically, medical homebound instruction is provided for both non-disabled and disabled students
who cannot attend school for a medical reason — a mental or physical condition that exists due to an
accident, an illness, or pregnancy. A licensed physician must certify that such a medical condition exists
and must complete the medical homebound application that the local school district provides. The intent
of medical homebound instruction is to keep the student connected to his or her regular curriculum until
the time when his or her return to the classroom setting is possible. The ultimate goal is transition back into
the school environment as soon as possible. Any student participating in a program of medical
homebound instruction must be approved by the district superintendent or his or her designee on
standardized forms provided by the State department of Education. All approved forms must be
maintained by the district for documentation.
Homebound placements are made based on medical recommendations and homebound placements are
available for all students, including those with identified disabilities. Homebound is not a special
education placement, but students with an IEP can be placed on homebound with the appropriate
paperwork. Students with IEPs who are granted "homebound" will continue to receive special education
services along with homebound services. While a student with a disability is on homebound, his/her EFA
Primary code is changed to HO and the student also has a disability, include the student’s disability code(s)
in the EFA Secondary codes fields. The Office of Assessment needs to determine what the disability codes
are for HO students.
The procedure for requesting medical homebound instruction is not determined at the state level but is
established by the individual school district. Therefore, the parent should start by contacting the school
guidance counselor, the school's homebound coordinator, or a school administrator to start the homebound
process.
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Upon the signed authorization of the parent, the district's medical representative may ask the physician to
supply additional documentation in order to determine if medical homebound instruction is appropriate.
School districts are encouraged to discuss with physicians the accommodations and modifications that
can be made to keep students in the least restrictive environment.
The superintendent or the homebound designee can request a second medical opinion if he or she disagrees
with the first physician or feels that inadequate information has been provided? This can provide
necessary information to approve medical homebound instruction, deny medical homebound
instruction, or determine possible accommodations or modifications to allow the student to continue in
his or her regular school program.
Requesting Homebound Services
1.
Homebound forms can be obtained from the guidance counselors at the student's school or from the
Homebound Coordinator who is located in the Exceptional Ed Department at the Flexible Learning
Center.
2.
After the homebound form is completed by a licensed medical physician and parent has signed
Section III on the form, the form should be returned to the Homebound Coordinator. Each homebound
form is reviewed on an individual basis. After reviewing the reason for homebound, the circumstances
surrounding the homebound request, and possibly talking to the physician, the homebound will be
approved or denied.
3.
If the homebound is approved, the Homebound Coordinator will employ a homebound teacher as
soon as possible. All specifics will be given to the homebound teacher. The teacher will call the parent to set
homebound up as to times and dates. The student will receive one hour of homebound for each day that
the child is out of school unless otherwise determined to be different.
4.
If the school is unsure whether a student will qualify for homebound, they should call the
Homebound Coordinator or encourage the parent to call to discuss the situation and circumstances.
5.
Homebound request for three days or less will not be approved. Homebound forms for common
illnesses such as colds, flu, or viruses will not be approved.
6.
Homebound can be approved for intermittent absences due to chronic illnesses.
7.
Homebound should not cover partial school days when a student is not absent more than 51 % of
the day.
8.
Beginning and ending dates for homebound must be provided by the physician when the
homebound form is completed.
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AES/Homebased Services
AES is only for students receiving special education services and it does not need a medical
recommendation. Instead of "homebound", IEP teams can choose an alternative setting commonly
called "home-based" or "AES" (alternative educational settings). IEP teams can decide for a variety of
reasons that an individual student may need a more restrictive or alternative placement. AES is provided to
a student with an IEP if (1) the student's IEP team makes the decision to provide services away from the
student's current school, or (2) if the student is removed from his/her current school due to disciplinary
actions that result in suspension or expulsion. AES is to allow the student to receive special education
services and continue to progress in the general curriculum. Students placed on AES will continue to be
counted in their special education classification/EFA code as listed on the IEP. The school district will
continue to claim AES students for funding under the same category of disability that was used before
the student's placement was changed.
EFA coding for Homebound and AES
Medical homebound students EFA Primary code is changed to HO, and if the student also has a
disability, include the student’s disability code(s) in the EFA Secondary codes fields. The Office
of Assessment needs to determine what the disability codes are for HO students. Absences should
not be recorded during homebound unless the student is not compliant with the homebound. Schools
should use the drop down box in PowerSchool attendance in order to remember not to count the student
absent during homebound period of time. The Homebound Coordinator will notify the school of
absences or problems with the homebound. Homebound students are under the same attendance laws
as if they were at school.
Special education students who are receiving AES services for expulsion or temporarily out of
school for behavior will continue to be counted in membership under their special education
classification. Absences should not be recorded in attendance during this time. AES students are also
under the same attendance laws as if they were at their regular school. Special education students
should not be dropped when recommended for expulsion. The Homebound Coordinator will notify the
school of problems with the AES. The school should notify the Homebound Coordinator if they get
notification that the student is in juvenile detention (DJJ). The school is required to drop the student in
that case.
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Homeroom Classes for AES Homebound and Medical Homebound in PowerSchool
Courses numbers have been created in PowerSchool for a student placed in AES Homebound or
Medical Homebound. When a student becomes AES Homebound or Medical Homebound the
SIS Clerk at your school will drop them from their current homeroom class only, leaving them
in all other classes. The student will then be entered into the homeroom for AES Homebound
or Medical Homebound. The SIS clerk will be responsible for any attendance that may need to
be entered. If the student status changes, the SIS clerk will drop them from that course and enter
them back into their original homeroom class. If you need assistance, contact Debra
Crenshaw(1068), Brenda Shepherd (1049), or Debra Broyles (3110).
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State Reporting (45-135-180 day report)
UMIRS Reports
The State Department of Education runs reports on truants reported in discipline which is
commonly called UMIRS reporting, Uniform Management Information Reporting
System.
These reports are run at: 45-90-135
180 day increments
School personnel who are responsible for entering truant codes, are ask to be sure that
all truant codes are correct in Incident Management as Discipline prior to these reports
being extracted by the state department on these dates.
45-135-180 Day Reports
The State Department of Education runs attendance reports at 45-135-180 days. These
reports pertain to the school's funding based on attendance.
The PowerSchool coordinators will email to attendance personnel at each school specific
instructions as to have to run these reports.
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No Show Information

It is critical during the first day of school to determine which students have not shown up. It
is required that every school take attendance in PowerSchool on every student that is
active in the schools PowerSchool Database even if the student has not shown up for
school.

After the second day of school, measures will be taken by guidance, attendance, home
school worker, and any person(s) designated by the principal to provide support to
locate any student that has not attend school by the second day. Effort must include
phone calls, conferences, and home visits. After these efforts are documented and
exhausted, letters should be mailed to the last known address requesting that the student
reenroll in school and list the consequences for those students under the age of 17 who
fail to comply. These should be a team approach.

These efforts must be completed before the fourth day of school. At the end of the fourth
day of school, student must be officially No-Showed in PowerSchool. The No-Show
codes will then be placed in the system by the SIS Clerk before the leave on the fourth
day.

ALL Levels will follow this procedure, elementary, middle, and high school.
No-Showing a Student
Students in 1st – 12th grades that do not show up on the first day of school will be marked absent
using U - Unexcused. You will continue to mark students who do not show up U - Unexcused for the
first 2days of school. If they do not show up on the Second day of school you will No-Show them
at the end of the second day before you leave.
Middle and High schools: Before you No-Show the student, you may want to make a copy of the
student’s schedule. Once the student is No-Showed, the schedule will disappear.
PK & Kindergarten: We know that some schools will only have ½ of their pks & kindergarteners
the first 2 days of school. All students should show up the third day so No-Show them on the third
day. Using the first day of school as their Exit Date when No-Showing them.
Taking Attendance the First Day of School
Student counts will be needed by 12:00 the first 3 days of school and again on the 10th day of school.
Although we are moving forward with modern technology, at times we still need to use the paper and
pencil method in order to allow us to have a check and balance system. All teachers need to take
attendance both in PowerSchool as well as on a printed class roster the first 3 days of school. Any
discrepancies between what is in PowerSchool and who is actually sitting in the classroom would be
easily caught and corrected. We are recommending this due to the fact it was almost 6 weeks before
some students were found that had never been in school and others that had never been placed in
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PowerSchool. Attendance will be by grade for Elementary and Middle School. High School will be
the total number of students. Please send to Debra Broyles as soon as you have your counts.
On the third day of school run a list of student’s with 3 consecutive absences to give to your
Guidance Counselor, or Homeschool Worker so they can begin working on locating the students. All
No-Shows should be cleared out by the end of September. The only No Show students you should
have left on your list at the end of September are students you have not received a request for records
for and truly do not know where they are. To get the list of these students go under Functions, select
Attendance, select Consecutive Absences, select attendance code U (Unexcused), Number of
Consecutive days to scan for 3, and Submit.
Don’t forget you will need to clear out their attendance before you can drop their classes and
No-Show them. Select all of your No Show students, select Attendance Change from Group
Functions, Scan for U -Unexcused code, and Set Attendance code to Present and submit. Go to
Modify Schedule and drop their classes using the first day of school date. Elementary schools
remember to use the correct date when dropping the related art classes. You are now ready to No
Show the students.
Step 1 - No Show a Student
Find the student
Go to Functions
Choose Transfer Out Of School
Set the Transfer Out page as follows:
You must Add Transfer Comment
Set Date of Transfer to the date of the first day of school.
Choose “NS” as Exit Code
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Click SUBMIT
Student is now transferred out of your school.
REMINDER: Student is still in your database, but is not active.
Don’t forget to write these students into your PowerSchool Withdrawal Book for record
purposes.
Step 2 – Run List of No-Show Students
After you No-Show all of your students you will need to run the following search to obtain a list of
all students No-Showed in order for your Guidance Counselor or Family Outreach Coordinator to
start locating them.
Search: /enroll_status=2;ExitCode=NS;exitdate=XX/XX/XXXX (Using the date for the first day of school)
Here is a quick export you can use to get phone and address information from Contact 1 and Contact 2 to
help locate these students.
Quick Export
last_name
first_name
home_room
Grade_Level
DOB
cnt1_fname
cnt1_lname
cnt1_rel
cnt1_hphone
cnt1_cphone
cnt1_WPhone
cnt1_street
cnt2_fname
cnt2_lname
cnt2_rel
cnt2_hphone
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cnt2_cphone
cnt2_WPhone
cnt2_street
Step 3- Coding No-Show Students you have received a request of records for.
Find Students, Go to Transfer Info page, select Entry Date.
The Exit Date will remain the date of the first day of school. Change the Exit Code and Exit
Comment.
Go to SC Additional Student page. Select appropriate Moved to District and Moved to School.
Set No-Show Reason, Dropout Date, and Dropout Reason back to blank if data is in fields.
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Elementary does not fill in the Dropout reason and Dropout date under SC Additional Student
Information. These fields are to be used by middle and High school only. (Per Keith Wilks)
Step 4- Setting the No-Show code in SC Student Additional Information page
During the last week September you will need to finish your No-Show coding. ALL No-Show students who
have not been located must be coded in the No-Show field on the SC Student Additional Info page as shown
below. Run the Search from this set of instructions for a current list of your No-Show Students. Once you have
your list go to the SC Additional Student Info page to complete this coding as shown below.
Elementary must locate ALL No Show students as well. If you cannot locate them, contact your Family
Outreach Coordinator for assistance. If they cannot locate, they will give you a letter stating they could not
locate to put in the students cumulative file. Make a copy for your file as well. Elementary ONLY codes the
No Show Reason.
Elementary No Show Reason
PK ONLY - Students who have been No Showed that you know they are at home due to not getting into the
program, moved out of zone after registering with you, or parent decided to keep them at home, their No Show
Code will be N17-Home Schooled.
5K-5th - Students who have been No Showed that you have not been able to locate, the state department will
create a No Show Reason Code to fit True Elementary No Show for the upcoming school year, 2015-2016.
No Show students are not coded in the Moved to District and Moved to School. Previous coding in
Moved to District/School must be removed.
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Middle and High School codes No Show Reason, Dropout Reason, and Dropout Date fields.
Dropout Scenarios
The dropout reason field will be used as the “trigger” for identifying the dropouts in the following three basic
scenarios:
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1. A student withdrew prior to the end of the 2009–10 school year and has been identified as a dropout. The
dropout reason and dropout date fields must be populated in the 2009–10 South Carolina Additional Student
Information page.
2. A student finished the 2009–10 school year, may or may not have been promoted to the next grade/school,
but did not return in the 2010–11 school year and has been “no showed.” The dropout reason and dropout date
fields must be populated in the South Carolina Additional Student Information page.
Note: Not all No-Shows are dropouts.
3. A student started the 2010–11 school year, then withdrew prior to October 1, and has been identified as a
dropout. The dropout reason and dropout date fields must be populated in South Carolina Additional Student
Information page.
In all three scenarios, we will be relying on the dropout reason and dropout date fields to identify students who
have been coded as dropouts. If you assign the withdrawal code W36 to a student, please be sure to populate
the dropout reason and dropout date fields as well.
Every Thursday Debra Crenshaw does her 10 day drop and Expulsions. Below is an example of the e-mail
Debra Crenshaw sends out to Principal, Assistant Principals, Guidance counselors, Sally Wilson, Test
Coordinator, Anne-Lise Edmodson, Resource officer, Attendance Clerk, Walter Wolf, Shannon Reed, and
Hank Hammond.
Good Morning!
The following students have been dropped for more than 10 consecutive days absent.
Counselors please make calls and find out where these students have gone. Then email me and
let me know what contacts were made and the results. My suggestion would be to place a Log
Entry in PowerSchool when a contact is made or attempted. Then you can copy the entry and
email it to me as I need it to keep a record of the attempts made. Please be sure to refer
students to Lisa Crocker if you have an unsuccessful contact (complete referral form and place
in Lisa Crocker's box).
Student Name, Grade, DOB
The following students are SE students that have been expelled and moved to the AES
Homeroom:
None this week
The following students have been dropped due to expulsion for the remainder of the year:
None this week
Thank you!
Debra
Debra Crenshaw
Registrar
Rock Hill High School
320 W. Springdale Road
Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803)981-1312 Office
(803)981-1496 Fax
[email protected]
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